Diplomat
by JolinarJackson
Summary: Camile raised her eyebrows. “Rush is one of the civilians. Eli’s one of them, too. That makes them my responsibility.“ - “Since when?“ - “Since the civilians are coming to me with their problems.“


**Diplomat**

_Summary: _Camile raised her eyebrows. "Rush is one of the civilians. Eli's one of them, too. That makes them my responsibility." - "Since when?" - "Since the civilians are coming to me with their problems."

_Rating:_ T_  
Spoiler: Life  
Setting:_ just before _Justice_ _  
Beta:_ sheneya – thank you!

_Disclaimer: _I'm not making money with this fanfic. The tv-show _Stargate Universe_ and the characters appearing within it belong to their producers and creators. Any similarities to living or dead persons are purely coincidental and not intended.

***

***

Whenever she entered the mess hall, she saw scared people.

They were sitting together at the tables, talking - some of them even smiling … or laughing, but they were scared. Camile knew the signs. While Becker was preparing her ration, she let her eyes glide through the room. A group of civilians, Brody and Franklin with them, were sitting together, discussing Rush's refusal to work with them just loud enough that Rush could hear them, however, the lead scientist was focusing on Eli sitting beside him and the pictures which the KINO remote control was displaying for them. Rush's bowl was standing forgotten on the table in front of his folded arms. Eli was still eating with one hand while the other was controlling the KINO.

Chloe was sitting alone at a table in a corner, listening to music. Three soldiers had gathered around a table with Lt. James to play poker, doing their best - apparently in vain - to win against her.

"Sorry, ma'am." Becker's voice interrupted her thoughts as he handed her a bowl.

"Thank you," she mumbled and sat down at a lonely table. These people didn't seem to be scared but they were.

Camile didn't seem to be scared, either, when she was eating dinner with her parents - 17 years old and thinking about her date with Kelly Gillian while gushing about the football star to make her mother smile. She didn't seem to be scared when she'd finally told her parents the truth, too. _"I'm gay."_ Those three words had filled the room, attacked by the unbelieving, hurt and disappointed looks of her parents, until she'd turned away and left. She hadn't spoken to them since.

"It's hard to miss, don't you think?" Colonel Young asked, sitting down across from her.

Camile glanced at him before she stared into her bowl. "What are you talking about?" she asked.

"Fear," Young answered, starting to eat the rather disgusting mash the military was calling a meal, "We survived a near death situation – again – and everybody's waiting for the next problem to make itself known."

Camile nodded thoughtfully.

Young nodded in Rush and Eli's direction. "I think he'll be the cause of whatever it is."

Camile raised her eyebrows. "I really hope you're talking about Rush."

"Of course," Young answered, "Eli's on my side. He promised to watch Rush for me."

Camile smiled. "Colonel, I'm not sure if Eli's taking sides at all."

The young man seemed to be overwhelmed by all the camps which had formed on board, he approached everybody openly.

Camile had forgotten how to do that years ago, her work for the government had made her suspicious about outing herself. Therefore, she didn't do it. It was only within the last few couple of years she'd begun not to lie whenever somebody asked whether she had a boyfriend. It had taken a lot of courage to bring along Sharon for a reception the first time, but she'd done it. Her career seemed to have come to a standstill ever since, but her relationship had gotten stronger and that was more important to Camile.

"You're underestimating the kid," Young said.

Camile emptied her bowl. "I think you're the one underestimating him. Eli's not one to take sides."

"Just because you know his file doesn't mean that you know him."

Camile shook her head and propped her elbows up on the table. "He came to me to ask if he could get in trouble if he would refuse an order from a leading officer."

"Really?" Young asked.

"He wanted to know if being … a spy could cause trouble."

Young laughed.

Camile didn't. "I'm not happy with your leadership, Colonel."

"And here we go again," Young sighed.

Camile raised her eyebrows. "Rush is one of the civilians. Eli's one of them, too. That makes them my responsibility."

"Since when?" Young asked.

"Since the civilians are coming to me with their problems." Camile leant over the table to be able to speak without being overheard. "You've got a big problem coming your way, Colonel, and you don't even see it. You've made a point of making this situation a military one when you took command, and now, the civilians feel like they've been passed over."

"Camile, it's your responsibility to explain the situation to them, you are the bridge between the military and the civilians."

"That's a tough assignment considering our leader isn't listening to me."

Young narrowed his eyes and Camile knew that she'd made him angry with that one.

"So, you wanna take command to remedy that? I'd like to see you trying to keep Rush in line."

Camile wasn't above admitting that Young was doing his best, but she was the one listening to the complaints of the scientists about the soldiers, about bumps in the hallways and snide remarks, most of them coming from Sgt. Spencer.

It was obvious that Young wanted to have the situation under control but who was prepared to lead a team of survivors on a washed-out ship flying through the galaxy - without knowing where they were headed next or if they could return home?

She didn't envy him his position, nevertheless, she thought that he could do better … that she could do better. After all, it wasn't about the military but about people and people, she knew. "Since when have you got Rush under control?"

Young nodded in resignation. "That man's a lot of work. But I think I'm making progress."

"We should share command."

"I'm keeping command," Young said firmly, "No matter what you say, we are in a dangerous situation. The military has to stay in control and protect the civilians."

Camile laughed, getting up. "Believe me. You'll be sorry. It won't be much longer before they …" She indicated Franklin and Brody who were sitting alone now but still spoke with soft voices, casting dark looks at Rush. "… aren't thinking about how to keep Rush breathing down their necks. They'll talk about how to stand their ground against the military." She turned away, heading for the door.

"Camile," Young said and she turned around to face him. "We'll talk later," he said, almost in a rebuking way, "We aren't done with that topic, yet."

She nodded and left the mess hall. "You have no idea," she muttered.

END

JJ 01/10


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